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BY DR. GLENN MOLLETTE

There is much you and I can’t do anything about. If you live, you can’t stop aging. The only way to stop aging is to die. 

We can’t make ourselves younger. The 18-year-old may wish to be a few years older for various reasons. Once you turn 19 you can’t go back to 18. You can look young for a long time but looking young and actually being young are two different things. 

There are many illnesses you can’t do much about. You can see the finest doctors in the country and obtain the latest medications and procedures, but they aren’t always a silver bullet for health. Cancers have a way of invading and growing in spite of the best treatments. Multiple sclerosis has a way of being relentless in attacking the body. Dementia has a way of robbing a person slowly of his or her health. 

Hope keeps us going. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares The Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” The passage was written to thousands of Jewish people exiled to Babylon under the siege of Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C… The writer of the words was giving the people a word of encouragement, help and hope to not give up but to keep living life and to go forward with their lives in spite of their circumstances. Things would eventually change, and they would return to their homeland but it would be 70 years before it would occur. 

It’s not easy to go forward in spite of the circumstances. We often face challenges that cause us to lose hope. When we lose hope, we give up. The smallest ray of hope keeps us going. We hold on to that small ray of sunshine hoping for a breakthrough. Every day, sick people hope that the latest chemo or radiation treatment will bring some relief, extension of life, and maybe a little better quality of life. The hope keeps them trying one more time. 

When we have a little bit of hope, we are willing to get up in the morning. When we have hope, we are willing to try a little longer. 

People lose hope in their health. They lose hope in people. They lose hope in their marriages or families. People lose hope in their jobs or careers and try something else or just quit altogether.  

The will to keep seeking answers, searching for a cure, or a reason to stay committed depends on one key factor. Is there any hope? Sometimes hope comes from the doctor who says, “We won’t give up. We will try something else.” Often the hope comes from some discovery we have made online. Maybe we have done our own research and come up with some answers. Maybe the hope has come from a person who has assured us of their love and devotion. 

Many years ago, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah had a word for God’s people. The word was his message from God to them. The message was a coming prosperity, hope, and a future. Everyone needs some of this today regardless of who you are. I hope in the months ahead that you can see some financial breakthroughs in your life. That your inner being is filled with optimism and that you feel there is some future for you in this world.  

May this be true for us all. 

(Dr. Glenn Mollette is the author of several books. His column is published in over 600 publications in all 50 states.)